The Duty of a Knight
by Empress Dots
Summary: KentLyn. Dedicated to Vyctori. Kent, Lyn, and Sain are headed home after the final battle, when an attack changes things for all of them. Kent, feeling he has failed, thinks he should leave. R&R.


First FE fic, here. Thanks to my good friends at GSFF for looking it over.

Dedicated to Vyctorichan, the mistress of Kent/Lyn.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem 7 or any of its characters. **

**=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-**

The attack had come out of nowhere.

Kent, Sain, and Lyn had all been headed back to Caelin after bidding Eliwood and the others farewell. Florina had left them to spend some time with her sisters, while Wil had decided to stay with Rebecca. So it was only the three of them left, headed back through the hills to Castle Caelin.

Then, the bandits had appeared, ambushing them from seemingly every direction at once. All of the bandits bore axes, so he would have thought that they would be fine, especially Lyn. Her sword work was the best he had ever seen, and since swords were better than axes when it came to combat . . .

At some point, Kent had cursed under his breath for having the foolishness to ride through a forest. The trees inhibited his horse, making it harder to keep up with Lyn as she forged ahead through the trees. He tried to stay close to her, taking down the bandits as he went. 

Lyn took an occasional hit from a bandit, but took most of them down with little difficulty. All she gained from the battles were a few scratches.

Then the horseman, bearing a Killer Lance, came out of nowhere. He raised the lance high above his head. Lyn drew back her sword, ready to counterattack. 

"Lady Lyndis!" Kent yelled, struggling to get his horse to her in time. A grinning bandit blocked his path and swung at him. Kent took him down with a single swing of his sword, and rushed to catch up with Lyn. He found that more trees blocked his path, and another axe-swinging bandit blocked the way.

Kent did something he didn't do much—he swore. He took out the bandit and kept his horse running, despite its protests and obvious claustrophobia.

Before he could get close enough, the horseman's Killer Lance struck Lyn in her upper right arm. The girl winced and tried to draw back, but a bandit behind her rammed the handle of his axe into the same spot the lance had struck.

Lyn's Sol Katti dropped from her hand, and her arm hung limp. 

The horseman withdrew his lance, and the bandit behind her proceeded to embed his axe in her lower arm. She whimpered a bit then—Kent knew Lyn better than to think she would scream.

He leaned down and whispered in his horse's ear, "If we aren't there in time to save her, then I'll sell you to the butcher."

The horse continued running as best it could in the thick trees.

Lyn coughed and pulled out a vulnerary, holding it with her left hand. The bandit thrust the handle of his axe out, shattering the bottle in Lyn's hand. She stared at it for a moment, then went to pick up her Sol Katti and face the bandit.

Her sword arm seemed strangely stiff. She winced as she tried to move it.

The horseman struck her again, this time in the shoulder. Kent was close enough to head a cracking noise as the metal lance made contact with bone.

Kent spurred his horse on faster.

The horseman withdrew his lance and readied it for another strike—this time aiming for Lyn's heart. Lyn dropped to her knees, gripping her limp arm with one hand and wincing.

_"Lady Lyndis!"_ Kent rushed between his lady and the horseman. He sheathed his sword in an instant and drew his own lance, parrying the blow the opposing cavalier gave him. He rammed his own lance into his enemy's armor, breaking through its thin shell and piercing his heart. The horseman fell from his mount, landing in a pool of blood on the ground. His horse spooked, its eyes rolling back into its head, before running away.

Kent whirled on his horse, then reached down and swept Lyn up into his saddle with one arm. "Are you all right?" 

She winced at the pressure he put on her sword arm. "My arm hurts a little."

"A little? No offense, my lady, but you're known to severely understate things. Just how much is a little?"

She shook her head, still wincing a bit. "Really, it's nothing. I'm sure all I need is a vulnerary and a bit of time to heal. I'll be fine." She looked down. "I need my sword."

"I'll get it for you, Lady Lyndis, but you'll not be fighting any more in this battle," Kent said. He handed her a vulnerary. "Use it. You've been wounded badly." He turned to the bandit, narrowing his eyes. 

Sain cut between them, downing the bandit with a sword-swipe. "Easy, Kent! I think that's the last of them!"

"Good," Kent replied. "Lady Lyndis needs a healer, and quickly."

Sain turned his eyes on Lyn. "My beautiful vision of delight? You're not wounded, are you?"

"Quit it, Sain, and yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, my lady?" He led his horse over to them and looked at her wounds. His eyebrows raised. "Those don't look 'fine,' my angel."

"I said quit. And they'll be fine with some healing." She winced, still holding the vulnerary Kent had given her in one hand. Kent climbed off his horse, picked the Sol Katti up off the ground, and held it out to Lyn.

She started to move her sword arm to take and sheath the blade, but winced and stopped. 

"Maybe it's hurt a little worse than I thought," she admitted.

Kent looked up at her. "Can you move it at all, my lady?"

"I can try."

"Stop if it hurts you, my lady. I wouldn't want you to get injured worse than you already are."

Lyn started to move her arm again, gritting her teeth. She only moved it a few inches more before wincing and stopping.

"It really hurts," she said. Kent noticed that she was looking a little woozy.

"My lady?"

"It really hurts," she repeated. "Kent . . . why is the ground spinning?" She dropped the vulnerary she had held, then fell forward, pitching off the horse's back. He dropped the Sol Katti and caught her.

She did scream when she landed on her wounded arm.

"Sain! We must get her to the nearest village immediately!" Kent yelled. "I think she's in shock!"

"There's one just outside the forest," Sain said. "I saw it before we entered. Give me Lady Lyndis's sword. I'll hold on to it. You get her back on your horse, and keep her safe."

Kent nodded, carefully lifting Lyn into the horse's saddle, wrapping her arms momentarily around its neck. He handed Sain the Sol Katti before climbing into the saddle behind Lyn and wrapping his arms around her.

_I should have gotten there sooner, _he thought grimly as he followed Sain out of the woods.

-

It was nightfall before Sain returned to the inn with news. Kent had gone there to get them a room, while Sain had carried Lyn into a home where some Elimine clerics were staying temporarily.

_We were lucky,_ Kent thought. _Had it been any other day we came here, there would be no healers and we'd be out of luck._

He looked up as Sain walked into the room, closing the door behind him. His face was unusually solemn in the flickering candlelight.

"What's the news, Sain?"

"Well, Kent . . ." Sain said as he turned away, fumbling with the fastenings of his armor, "I'm afraid that the news is not good."

Kent looked up and waited for Sain to continue.

"Her arm's broken in three places," Sain continued, not turning back to look Kent in the eye. "One where the lance first hit, one in the lower area where the bandit was chopping up, and one in the shoulder. Her shoulder's apparently almost totally shattered."

Kent ran shaking hands through his hair. "And . . . ?"

Now Sain did turn around, looking more serious than Kent had seen him in all the time they'd been together. "She might never be able to use that arm again, Kent."

"But it's her sword arm! Lady Lyndis practically lives by being able to practice her swordplay! If she can't use that arm ever again . . ."

"She might not ever be able to wield the Sol Katti ever again," Sain interrupted. "I know, Kent, it's tough, but Lady Lyndis is strong. She'll pull through it."

"I should have been there sooner," Kent whispered. He shook his head. "I could have protected her. I've failed in my duty to her."

"Kent, don't go blaming yourself," Sain said. "Things happen. I should have been there as well, but we just couldn't make it in time."

"I was so close to her." Kent lowered his head. "And yet I couldn't protect her when she needed me. I've failed her."

"Kent . . ."

Kent stood up, picking up his sword and lance from where they rested against the wall. "I think, Sain, that it's best if I go."

"What are you talking about? You can't just go and _leave_. . . ."

"That's exactly what I _must_ do, Sain." Kent glanced over his shoulder at his fellow paladin, then returned his attention to readying his things. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare vulnerary I can take with me, would you?"

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know. Anywhere."

"Well, you can't just leave Lady Lyndis here!"

"I'm not leaving her alone. She still has you to take care of her and make sure she returns safely to her grandfather. I can't stay. Lady Lyndis . . . I've failed her. My one sworn duty is to protect her, and I've failed. You will do better at that than ever I could."

"You're not serious!" Sain walked over to Kent.

"I am," Kent said. 

"You can't just _leave!"_ Sain put his hands on Kent's shoulders. "Think of how Lady Lyndis would miss you!"

"Lady Lyndis won't need me," Kent replied, closing his eyes. "You'll be able to do everything I could, and do it better."

Sain was silent for a moment. "Think of how _I_ would miss you," he said at last. "You're my friend, Kent. What makes you think I can just let you leave?"

Kent sighed. "Perhaps I'll see you again, and perhaps not. But for now, Sain, I'm afraid that this is goodbye." He pushed Sain's hands off his shoulders and left. Sain stared after him for some time, his hands still frozen in midair and a pained look on his face.

Kent left the inn and headed for the gates to the village, where he and Sain had tied up their horses. 

"This is it, then," he muttered to himself.

He turned and glanced at the house where Elimine's clerics, and therefore Lyn, were staying.

"Farewell, my lady," he whispered. His throat felt very dry. "I'm sorry to have failed you."

"I'd much prefer to have you say that to my face," a voice behind him said.

Kent turned to see Lyn standing beside the horses, watching him. Her right arm heavily bandaged and tied into a tight sling. Her Sol Katti hung sheathed at her side.

"Kent." 

That was all she said.

"My lady, what are you doing out here?" he asked, walking toward her. She turned to the horses, stroking the neck of one. Kent continued talking. "You're injured and need your rest, and if you're out here much longer you'll catch cold."

By this time he had reached her, and she turned to look at him. 

"I had a feeling you might try something like this," she said.

He looked away. "I failed you, my lady. In my one duty to you—my duty to protect you—I failed miserably."

"Kent," she repeated, interrupting him. She turned, took a step back, and unsheathed her sword with her left hand.

"My lady?" he whispered.

"I'm not good at it now," she said, "but I can use my sword with my left arm when I need to. I think with some training, I might become quite skilled at it. So you see, Kent, I'll be fine." She sheathed the sword and watched him.

"It doesn't change the fact that I failed you." Kent looked away. "You'd be better off with Sain."

Lyn suppressed a laugh. "Better off with _Sain__?_ Kent, is that some kind of joke?"

"No." His voice was blunt.

She shook her head and put her hand on his chest. He stiffened.

"Tell me," Lyn said, "your sworn duty."

"My sworn duty? But my lady, you _know_ my sworn duty. It is the very duty I failed you at."

"Tell it to me," she said.

"My sworn duty." Kent sank to his knees before Lyn. "My sworn duty is to protect you, my lady, and stay by your side no matter what."

She tilted her head slightly. "No matter what?" she repeated.

"Yes, my lady."

"Then how can you think that leaving me now would be the best course of action?" she asked. 

"I have already failed you," Kent said. "You won't want a failure by your side, Lady Lyndis."

"I'll always want _you_ by my side, Kent."

He looked up at her. "My lady?"

She knelt and put her left arm around his shoulders. "Stay with me, always," she whispered in his ear. "Wasn't that your promise?"

He was still. "My lady, I . . ."

"Shhh." She tightened her grip on him, pulling herself against his chest. _"Always, _Kent," she said. "No matter what. Won't you keep that promise?"

He still did not move. His body seemed paralyzed, his arms felt as broken as Lyn's right arm was. "But my lady . . ."

"You haven't failed at anything, Kent. Nothing at all. So please stay with me?"

He then found the strength to lift his arms and wrap them around her. "Yes," he said. "I will stay."

She pressed her face into his shoulder. "Good," she said. "I'm so glad. I'd be scared without you. Because I . . ."

"My lady?"

"I love you, Kent. Never leave me."

_I love you, Kent._

It was exactly what he had needed to hear for so long.

He tightened his embrace, at the same time careful not to crush Lyn's arm.

"Of course not," he said. "I won't leave you. I won't ever fail you again."


End file.
